From July 14 to 18, 2025, the 20th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) convened in Nairobi, Kenya, under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The conference aimed to enhance collaboration among African nations and international partners, advance global and regional environmental governance frameworks, and address pressing environmental challenges across the continent.
The SEE Foundation delegation was invited to participate in the conference, which featured keynote address from esteemed figures such as the Director of UNEP’s Economy Division, the Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and environment ministers from Angola, Senegal, and other nations. Notable contributions were also made by Kenya’s Science and Technology Envoy, the Chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and UNEP’s Chief Digital Officer. Additional insights were provided by environmental ministers and envoys from Mauritius, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Togo, and Namibia.
Central to the conference discussions were policy solutions aimed at mitigating environmental degradation and addressing climate change, with a particular focus on leveraging sustainable digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and early warning systems to tackle these complex challenges.
During the High-Level Dialogue, Mr. Liu Mingda, President of the Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology (SEE) and Executive Director of the SEE Foundation, shared China’s civil society experiences in supporting UNEP’s Global Environment Early Warning Project. He presented practical examples of Chinese NGO involvement in early warning initiatives, community engagement strategies, and public-private partnerships.
Established in 2004, the SEE Foundation has been dedicated to grassroots environmental protection efforts in China, ranging from community-driven desertification control using Haloxylon ammodendron (saxaul) to ecosystem restoration in the Yellow River Basin. The Foundation has developed core competencies in:
- Establishing indigenous and local knowledge-based early warning systems.
- Forming cross-sectoral governance mechanisms through multi-stakeholder collaboration.
- Empowering communities with technology to ensure sustainable long-term engagement.
In 2025, the SEE Foundation formalized a cooperation agreement with UNEP, committing USD 1 million over the next two years to support the implementation of the Early Warning for Environment (EW4E) initiative. This partnership underscores Chinese civil society’s growing commitment to addressing global ecological challenges and underscores the potential of science-driven early warning systems, international collaboration, and community-led actions for sustainable development.
AMCEN, established in December 1985 following its inaugural session in Egypt, plays a pivotal role in assisting African nations in achieving sustainable socio-economic development while safeguarding agricultural progress and food security. The 2025 session served as platform for environment ministers and experts from across Africa to review past achievements, deepen the continent’s engagement in global environmental processes, and set collective priorities and positions for the 2025–2027 period.
